LEBANON — For a small city, Lebanon has its share of amenities: highly rated schools, one of the top medical centers in New England, a regional shopping hub and an airport.

But a thriving night life hasn’t necessarily been on the list.

Beginning next week, that could start to change.

Revo Casino and Social House will throw open its doors to the public on Wednesday. The $10.5 million renovation of the former Honda dealership located on Miracle Mile will feature 137 electronic slot machines, 10 gaming tables, five poker tables, a live performance stage, a radio studio, a 40-foot length bar, a 30-seat restaurant and parking for almost 100 vehicles (including six spaces set aside for “VIPs”).

A separate room encased behind a wall of glass windows with 26 slot machines and equipped with a “special ventilation system” is designated for smokers.

The maximum amount players are allowed to bet per game is $25 at machines and $50 at the gaming tables, although there is no limit on the number of times a person can wager.

The casino will be open from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday to Thursday and 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

A joint venture with Manchester developer Dick Anagnost, Revo is operated by Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, a privately held Los Angeles-based casino operator that sold off the bulk of its properties to Churchill Downs for $2.75 billion in 2022. It held onto stake in New Hampshire-based Revo, which operates casinos in Manchester, Keene and Dover and is opening a fifth casino in Conway in January.

Shawn Harris, a gaming industry veteran hired to be the general manager in Lebanon, said Revo needed to fill 80 positions, from food servers, bartenders and kitchen staff to game table dealers, cashiers and security. The company held two job fairs.

“We heard it’s been hard to find people in Lebanon but, honestly, we’ve had the opposite experience,” Harris said, noting the number of applicants surpassed the number of openings. “This will be a fun place to work and people want to work here.”

Casino gambling went from small-scale fundraising events organized by organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wards to a lucrative business in New Hampshire when lawmakers enacted a law in 2006 that allowed casinos to operate as so-called “charitable gaming” enterprises, meaning that 45% of the operator’s revenue is taken off the top — 35% of their proceeds going to charity and 10% to the New Hampshire State Lottery to support public education.

Supporters say it provides a welcome source of funding for nonprofits, community programs and social welfare organizations.

Revo says it expects to make between $12 million to $13 million in donations to charitable recipients in New Hampshire in 2024.

The first two nonprofits that are slated to share the proceeds from Revo’s Lebanon casino are the Grafton County Senior Citizens Council and the New Hampshire Academy of Sciences, which mentors students from rural areas for STEM careers.

Kathleen Vasconcelos, executive director or Grafton County Senior Citizens Council, said this will be the first time her group has partnered with a casino. She said the money will be used to offer programs and services for older adults and adults with disabilities in Grafton County.

“The charitable gaming funds will help to support our core programs of nutrition — home-delivered and grab-and-go meals — transportation, outreach and activities,” which she said “help adults in our region remain living in their own homes and communities while they age with dignity and independence.”

The New Hampshire Academy of Sciences, based at Crossroads Academy in Lyme, has benefited from charitable gaming in the past, said Executive Director Paul Faletra.

A couple years ago the program received “about $20,000” from gaming proceeds at the Lebanon Poker Room, the small casino that Revo operates in downtown Lebanon. The poker room will be closing when the new casino opens on Miracle Mile.

The charitable gaming funds offer more flexibility than other sources of revenue, such as federal funding that “comes with a lot of strings attached” in regard to how recipients are allowed to use it. “We view this as unencumbered money,” Faletra said.

Last time, it used it to pay for transportation for students to meet with mentors or to sponsor events highlighting students’ work.

“Twenty thousand dollars may not sound like a lot in the scheme of things but was immensely helpful in helping us pay for things we otherwise could not do under the federal grant money,” Faletra said.

The Lebanon Poker Room, tucked next to Village Pizza in the mall at 45 Hanover Street, opened in 2018 and Revo took over in 2022. But the small operation — 36 slot machines, five gaming tables and three poker tables — has to rely upon Village Pizza to supply food and drink. Having a restaurant and bar inside the casino is, along with significantly expanded capacity for gambling, expected to make Revo a destination, Harris said.

“We’re having a first-class restaurant and bar,” he said while giving a tour of the casino this week as work crews unpacked roulette wheels and assembled gaming tables.

“Guests can come in for lunch and dinner even if they don’t play casino games,” Harris said.

Behind the bar is a cinema-size projection TV screen that can be raised to reveal a stage for live performances, which will be a regular feature on weekends. The first Friday will feature to rock/pop cover band Casual Friday followed on Saturday night with Manchester, N.H.’s 1990s and early 2000s cover band Deja Voodoo.

Revo has a joint venture with I Heart Radio, the largest radio station owner in the country, in which Revo fits out its casinos with a radio studio from which on-air disc jockeys will conduct their shows. The radio studio is set behind a glass wall and the contract calls for 15 hours of programming to originate from the casino each week.

Even apart from the gambling aspect, the entertainment offerings will be a welcome addition in Lebanon, said Tracy Hutchins, president of the Upper Valley Business Alliance.

“One of the things we hear most from our young professionals group is that there is really no place for nightlife in the Upper Valley. The options are limited,” Hutchins said, noting that the lack of places to go and socialize in the evening is a roadblock employers often face in hiring workers.

“It’s going to be a welcome addition,” Hutchins said.

On Tuesday, there will be an invitation-only opening followed by the public opening on Wednesday.

Contact John Lippman at jlippman@vnews.com.